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iMac purchase advice, Please

post #1 of 5
5/10/11 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 
Greetings!

I'm using a geriatric G4, and want to upgrade to the new 27" i7 quad core. My knowledge of many HW matters is badly out of date. Some questions follow. Your expert advice will be much appreciated.


1) I do not do graphics heavy application work, and watch a streaming film once in a while. Is there any point to getting 2 mg of video memory rather than the 1 mg in the standard config.?

2) I need a new wireless router to replace my ancient d-link 802.11g, which drops its connection to my wife's core two duo iMac 24" with great frequency. We have to unplug/reset the DSL modem to re-establish a connection. Queston: Airport Extreme or Linksys or some other brand? I want a dual frequency router with setup that doesn't require a PhD in technobabble, though I don't mind reading directions.

3) Can you suggest sources for an 8 mg RAM upgrade? Apple seems to gouge on price.


Thanks very much for your help.
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post #2 of 5
5/10/11 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monkfish View Post

Greetings!

Heydy-ho.

Quote:
1) I do not do graphics heavy application work, and watch a streaming film once in a while. Is there any point to getting 2 mg of video memory rather than the 1 mg in the standard config.?

It's gigabytes, not megabytes. [s]And nowhere do I see a 2GB graphics card.[/s] HOLY CRAP, A 2GB CARD. FINALLY. (And apparently this forum doesn't accept strikethroughs...) But for your purposes, you'd be MORE than fine with even 512MB, much less 1GB.

Quote:
I want a dual frequency router with setup that doesn't require a PhD in technobabble, though I don't mind reading directions.

AirPort Extreme it is, then.

Quote:
3) Can you suggest sources for an 8 mg RAM upgrade? Apple seems to gouge on price.

Sure thing. OtherWorldComputing's good for RAM, as is Newegg, generally.
Tallest Skil & Relic
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Tallest Skil & Relic
"…AI is a private forum…" "Well, in that case, it's naked time…"
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post #3 of 5
5/10/11 at 3:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

Heydy-ho.



It's gigabytes, not megabytes. [s]And nowhere do I see a 2GB graphics card.[/s] HOLY CRAP, A 2GB CARD. FINALLY. (And apparently this forum doesn't accept strikethroughs...) But for your purposes, you'd be MORE than fine with even 512MB, much less 1GB.

Many thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, indeed, Apple does offer a 2GB graphics card. Astonishing compared with the ancient gear I've been using.
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post #4 of 5
5/11/11 at 12:03pm
I'm just curious......why upgrade at all? It seems your computing needs are very modest, and if your G4 (I looooove that iMac) cannot meet them, then your wife's likely can....
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post #5 of 5
5/19/11 at 5:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jouster View Post

I'm just curious......why upgrade at all? It seems your computing needs are very modest, and if your G4 (I looooove that iMac) cannot meet them, then your wife's likely can....

Fair question. The G4 [not an imac, but an under the desk console, now running with a Dell display, Microsoft KB, unbranded mouse, and an interesting array of cables] is...

1) terribly slow to load a page;

2) Cannot, for HW reasons, be upgraded to anything beyond 10.2.8, and therefore...

3) cannot run current browsers or most current applications I use.

Oh. Did I mention that it is slower than a paraplegic snail?

Also, too, in addition, it has 384 MB of memory, and I don't feel like investing in HW upgrades for something of this vintage, despite it's blazing fast 450 Mhz processor! And it's slow.

My wife's computer is not available for my use most of the time.

When I want to work at a pace befitting one of my advanced years, I plug in the PC AT, with dual floppy drives, and use WordPerfect 5.0, which, all kidding aside, is an excellent piece of work.
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